Summer Reading List: The G

Ah, summer...days at the beach, the smell of freshly cut grass and, well, books! This past year has been one of the worst in my life, if the metric is sheer number of novels read. (Otherwise it's been quite good.) Between work, family and music, my reading has basically fallen off the proverbial cliff. But never fear, summer is here! And without further ado, here are the 6 books I'm excited to read...

1. The Crippled God by Steven Erikson

I've thoroughly enjoyed my trek through Malazan, though Dust of Dreams is currently trying my patience. However, I have it on good word that the epic 10-book series finishes on a high note, so I'm excited to see it through to the end. 

2. Synners by Pat Cadigan

This one's a re-read, but one I've been itching to do ever since our Cyberpunk Revisited series a few years ago. Worth noting: this is one of the last major works of cyberpunk (i.e. real cyberpunk, not post-cyberpunk or cyberpunk-influenced science fiction).  

3. Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill

The most intriguing of the Clarke shortlist, Sea of Rust is a post-apocalyptic story about a robot, created as a human caregiver, wandering the wastelands in search of spare parts fifteen years after humanity's extermination. Promises to be bleak and disturbing. 

4. The Moon and the Other by John Kessel

In this work of speculative sociology, a colonized moon is politically fragmented into rival city-states, each governed by a distinct sociopolitical model. Also features a canine reporter. 

5. Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

My first foray into "pharmapunk," Daryl Gregory's Afterparty, was not a successful one. But Autonomous promises to channel Neuromancer in ways I find deeply intriguing.

6. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

Murder mystery on spaceship! Murder mystery on spaceship! (Note: as this one is on the Hugo shortlist, I plan to read it before voting.)